Category: Holidays

Our host is Gattina. Come join us and tell us what YOU did this past weekend! After all, you never know when you will need an alibi!

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This past weekend was Christmas! The day that the world seems to stop and celebrate the love we have for our families and friends.

On Friday Hubby and I went out to get the last few things we might need for the big day. We picked up our mail, and then came home.

Later in the afternoon I prepared a few appetizers and we sat talking about Christmases past. We eventually ate the Fondue, which was fun and watched “It’s A Wonderful Life”, as is my usual Christmas Eve ritual.

Saturday morning dawned bright and beautiful and after sipping coffee and starting breakfast, I turned on the TV and put on “A Christmas Story” to watch while we ate and afterward, when we were lounging in our pajamas. (Well, Hubby had gotten dressed, but I was still in my jammies!)

About 11 AM I showered and dressed and started getting the house ready for Mandy and Matt’s arrival. It’s amazing how, in between doing the housework stuff, I also managed to surf the NET, and you know what I found? I was about the only one crazy enough to be online.

I seriously need to get a life!

Mandy and Matt arrived about 2:15 and our celebration began. I described it in yesterday’s post, so I won’t bore you with it again, but we did have a great time, and when they left to go home I felt quite emotional. I love my daughter so much, I really hope in the year ahead, we get to see each other more.

Sunday was a quiet day for me. I needed a day to recover, but Hubby went skiing. We had our roast beef dinner again for lunch (LOVE LEFTOVERS) and Sunday night will be a pick up meal. Anything that we can pick up!

Meanwhile a Blizzard is bearing down on us, and I will report in on Tuesday the total snowfall in my back yard!

Lastly, somehow, dear Readers, I managed to get the Surround Sound going on the new TV/Speakers! Call this a Christmas Miracle!!!

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Christmas 2010 found us waking to a bright sunshine filled day. We munched on a lovely breakfast of bacon, scrambles eggs, German Stollen bread, coffee juice and grapefruit. It was yummy!

We had a chance to lounge around after breakfast and sip our coffee, and watch “A Christmas Story” once again. Boy, I just never get tired of watching Ralphi lust after that ‘Red Rider BB Gun’!

Mandy and Matt arrived about 2:30 and our Christmas celebrations began. I had a bunch of appetizers ready to go, and we stood around the kitchen sipping champagne and munching cheese, crackers, chips and dips.

We settled in taking a few pictures and talking while the roasts cooked.

It was fun to fool around and be a little silly too. I think we all need to be able to do that in our lives. Take a vacation from being overly serious, just to feel the happiness all around us.

Just before dinner we started to open presents. Amanda needed a little help, and so Greta was right by her side. Greta is like that! Helpful! LOL

Christmas 2010 from Dackel Princess Maribeth on Vimeo.

We had our dinner and dessert and truly, we were all stuffed! After a bit Mandy and Matt left for home and we finished washing up the dishes.

The dogs are in bed now, and I am right behind them. Goodnight all!

From our house to yours,

Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

1. Share your Christmas Eve traditions.

We don’t really have any. This year we are doing Fondue, just Hubby and me. I have gotten some bubbly, and plan to make my favorite pie (pumpkin) for dessert. Since we have no snow, I cannot go out and play with the dogs in it, but I think I will still have a warm fire in the hearth!

2. What was the best book you read in 2010? (we’re not going to include The Bible here)

I think it was “The Time Traveler’s Wife” by Audrey Niffenegger. I have had trouble reading with my less than perfect eyes, but getting large print books works. My biggest problem now is that there aren’t a lot of best sellers available in large print. In fact there is one I want so much, and it hasn’t come out in large print! Grrrrrrr!

3. Do you have pets and if so do you allow them on the furniture?

I have four dogs. There is just Hubby and me and they outnumber us. So yes, they do. Just the dackels, not Fritz. He has his own bed on the floor.

4. What event from 2010 are you most thankful for?

That my retinal surgery was successful and I can see. After having both of my eyes damaged by detached retinas, I am thankful each and every day that I can see at all!

That my cousin Janet completed her cancer treatments successfully,beat an serious infection and surgery, and found the most wonderful man in the world, Dave!

5. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before.

I made Julia Child’s Boeuf Bourguignon and I also made Julia’s Roasted Chicken! I think I made myself slow down with my cooking and enjoy the experience more. I’ve never done that before!

6. Brussel sprouts…friend or foe?

Oh, definitely friend. I love them just steamed, or cut them in half, steam them briefly, and then saute some bacon until it is done, remove the bacon from the pan. Add a little olive oil and saute some chopped onions, until the onions are done. Add sprouts to the saute pan. Toss in the bacon fat, onions and olive oil until done. Crumple up the bacon over the whole thing, toss and serve!

7. Who would you nominate for man/woman of the year?

Besides my husband? (Who puts up with me, each and every day of the year!) I don’t think any one person can be called “a person of the year”. I like to believe that it takes many  people to make this world work.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

It seems I recall all those beloved people in my life, past and present, during the Christmas season. I recall those precious moments spent with them, the laughter, the smiles, the brightness in their faces, and the warmth in my heart, and theirs.

I see all those Christmas trees, and dinners and presents opened. I hear the jokes and the laughter and can almost smell the cookies as they bake in the oven.

I can hear the choirs I’ve listen to and sung in, and hear the services I’ve attended all around me.

Ah yes, Christmas is such a multifaceted holiday, isn’t it? I can feel and see and hear it all around me.

1. What in the world was I thinking when I lost my grocery list.

2. My dogs are always well fed.

3. Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and every where. Go tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born.

4. The box of precious books arrived and then was sent to a friend, far off in another land.

5. I keep praying and praying.

6. Christmas is coming ready, or not.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to a fire in the hearth, tomorrow my plans include a trip to the mall (groan) and Sunday, I want to finish some paperwork, and read the Sunday newspaper!

What’s Happening This Week…

1. Down 2 pounds at Weight Watchers this week. I like their new program, but like all new things, there really is a large learning curve…

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2. It is COLD right now. Seriously! I have long underwear on under my jeans, a turtleneck, a heavy wool sweater, and each time I go out, I bundle up with a down jacket, heavy gloves, and a Sherpa hat!

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3. And trust me on this. The dogs think it is fun to go out with me as often as they can, thus requiring me to dress up and then undress and then dress up and undress in all my heavy outside clothes!

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4. My menus are planned for the holidays. I have even decided on a great New Years Eve Dinner for Hubby and I, if we decide to stay in.

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5. Anneliese is feeling better today. She had gone out and eaten grass in the back yard (because we have NO SNOW), and this caused her to have a bad tummy for a couple of days. Anyway, today she seems to have turned the corner and is back to normal!

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6. Santa Paws was shopping today for Fritz and the dackels. Looks like it will be a good year for the beasts!

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7. Hubby skied again today. We have no natural snow, but thank goodness for snow-making machines as there is snow on the mountain ski runs!

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8. The office is nearly done. I’ll be dusting, vacuuming and finishing the last of the filing tomorrow. What a project! No one is allowed to go in there for any reason! LOL

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9. My next project is the formal Dining Room, which became our catch all room during the Christmas Card writing. Time to get the cards put away and wrap presents before I clean the room.

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10. Hubby decided to groom Fritz today inside. I mean, after all, it’s COLD outside, right? Well you should have seen the white fur flying around my house! I think I filled up a vacuum cleaner bag, just with his fur!

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11. I’ve been enjoying the Christmas Cards that have been coming in. I feel so blessed in my life, to be able to call these people friends.

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12. I’m sitting here watching Wheel of Fortune and I knew the puzzle loooog before the actual contestants! (Oh wait, that has nothing to do with Christmas and family does it?)

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13. My cousin Janet and her boyfriend sent us the most awesome Christmas card. Dave is a talented artist and he drew it! The card shows Janet and Dave in a sleigh with their dogs, Wolf and Max. It is the very best drawing! I can’t share it yet, because I must get the artists okay, but man, I wish I had that kind of talent!

1. What does it mean to have the ‘holiday spirit’?

You know, peace on earth, goodwill toward men (and women). I believe it is a time for reminding ourselves how blessed we are to have the family and friends that we do, to celebrate the reason for the season and all the blessings in this life.

2. What sits atop your tree (s)? Why?

I have a glowing star and a porcelain china red-haired Angel.

The Angel is for my daughter Katie, who (I like to believe) is watching over me, just like this beautiful Angel.

3. When was the last time you gave yourself a pat on the back?

When I mailed my Christmas cards at the end of November! I was so proud of all my work, all of Hubby’s work and the fact that this year, I was organized!

4. Which of your senses is most sensitive this time of year?

My husband says my sense of cold…Haha…I think probably my emotions. It doesn’t take much for me to well up with tears. A TV ad, a Christmas movie, a picture from the past. So yes, my sense of feeling emotions.

5. What do you have too much of in your kitchen?

Pfaltzgraff! I have Pfaltzgraff’s Folk Art pattern dishes and I think I have almost every piece known to have been made! It really is beautiful and fun to be able to set the table with all the pieces!

6. What do you do for meals on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day? Big meal? Breakfast tradition? Open the cookie tins and have at it?

We’ve decided to have fondue on Christmas Eve. I’ll also make a nice garden green salad and roll some deli meats. For dessert I will make a pumpkin pie.

Christmas Day Morning we will eat scrambled eggs, with bacon and German Stollen Bread! (The Stollen is tradition.) About 2:30-3:00 I will set out some appetizers and then I plan a Rib Roast of Beef for about 6 PM, served with twice baked potatoes, butternut squash, green beans and pearl onions. Will also make apple pie for dessert.

7. What is the best thing about winter?

Fires in the hearth! Skiing. Playing with the doggies in the snow. The silence of snow when it is falling.

8. As the days draw closer to Christmas, I am actually pleased to say that this year I am ready for it! Last year I was not prepared and then had surgery on December 20th, so I never really finished preparing for the holidays. Maybe this is totally crazy, but there is less stress when you are prepared early on.

Good morning everyone. I started to think about my favorite Christmas movies over the weekend. What movies do I watch, year after year, that make it feel like Christmas to me? Well here is a top ten list for you. It has my current favorites, although occasionally it changes and I either add a new one or include another one, thus making ties for favorites, as this group must be seen each year.

I’m aware that some of you may not have seen all of these due to where you live and the availability of programs. I’ve tried to give a brief accounting of each as I go along.

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10. The Santa Clause (1994) with Tim Allen. The movie is based on the premise of what would happen if a man suddenly found out that he was Santa Claus after the “real” Santa falls off of his roof!

9. Home Alone (1990) – The first one, not the sequels! A really good family film for the holidays, except there’s no family! Funny gags, hilarious antics and truly feel-good moments as well.

8. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965 – TV) – I know it’s a made-for-TV movie, but to ignore it would be stupid. Generations of kids have grown up on it.

7. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964- another made for TV movie) – Rudolph is wonderful, even with his jerky movements and static sets and Hermey the misfit elf, Yukon Cornelius the prospector and the Bumble seem timeless. Burl Ives singing, never gets old!

6. A Christmas Carol (1938) – The best version of the well-worn Dickens literary classic. At a mere 70 minutes in run-time, it’s a short but sweet classic.

5. White Christmas (1954) Bing Crosby singing “White Christmas” is the definition of the holiday season. And this happy, colorful 1950s musical. Many of you never got to hear Bing Crosby or Danny Kaye sing, but they sure were special!

4. Miracle on 34th Street (1947) The story of a little girl who’s cynical about life and the department store Santa who teaches her to believe in magic. The sweetest story of love and belief and the Christmas spirit.

3. The Bishop’s Wife (1947) – Who doesn’t like Cary Grant as an angel? Features a great movie quote: “The only people who grow old were born old to begin with”.

2. A Christmas Story (1983) If you haven’t seen this off-beat holiday movie, then get thee to the video store now. Ralphie’s Christmas quest for a Red Rider BB Gun will make you laugh until your funny bone is sore.

1. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) Oh, George Bailey! Our hearts break for him every year as we watch him do the right thing and only to be knocked down again and again. If you don’t cry at the end — when George is surrounded by all the lives he changed — then you might need to take up residence with the Grinch. It’s my favorite Christmas movie of all time!

I’ll be watching this next week as I do my Christmas wrapping. It’s sort of a tradition for me now. Me and the Baileys, and scissors and bows!

I was sitting here in the early stages of planning our Christmas foods and I started to wonder, what foods make it Christmas for you?

So far I have planned a nice rib roast for our actual Christmas Dinner. I’ll be serving green beans, butternut squash and braised pearl onions. I’m also thinking baked stuffed potatoes would be nice.

However, I’m totally not sure what to make for Hubby and I on Christmas Eve for dinner. I want to cook something special, a little lamb roast perhaps?

So, my question today is three-fold. What food makes it Christmas for you, and what does your family do for Christmas Eve Dinner? Does your family do anything special on Christmas morning for breakfast? Anything that you HAVE to have?

Please everyone comment and tell me all about your traditions. I’m looking forward to hearing your answers.

Meanwhile, it’s back into the office for me. I’ve been working hard and I think I will be done by Monday or Tuesday.